May 6, 2009

Complete WIRA Results in PDF Format

Sacramento, CA - Two LMU boats brought home the gold last weekend as LMU collected five medals overall at the Western Intercollegiate Rowing Association Championship Regatta, held Saturday and Sunday at Lake Natoma in Sacramento, CA. The Women's Novice 4 and Men's Pair boats each won their respective Grand Finals while the Men's Lightweight 8 finished second and the Men's Novice 4 and Men's Lightweight 4 each placed third. The Lions also had a first-place finish in the Women's Varsity 8 Petite Finale. On the men's side, senior Hansen Perkins earned Second Team All-WIRA honors.

Battling heavy rains all weekend, the Women's Novice 4+ led by Shannon Craig, Katrina Regan, Kaitlin Kovacich, Christine Erhart and coxswain Paris van den Akker began the victory procession on Sunday morning, racing to the gold in 7:37.6. The Lions' time was over nine seconds faster than second-place Western Washington in the five-boat final. The victory marked an undefeated weekend for the novice fours and a 13-second improvement from their time on Saturday, when they won their six-boat heat in 7:50.3.

"This victory by the Novice 4 bodes well for the future success of the varsity program at LMU," Head Coach and Coordinator of Rowing Dawn Regan said. "The effort shown by our freshmen lays the foundation for their continued growth in the upcoming seasons."

The next LMU gold came in the Men's Pairs as the Lions returned to the top of the podium after winning the WIRA championship in 2007 and placing second last year. LMU's duo of junior Patrick Callan and redshirt junior Brandon Sorbom had reached the Grand Final with a two-second victory over Washington State in their heat on Saturday, finishing in 7:24.5 to the Cougars' 7:26.4. On Sunday, the finish was even closer as the Lions made one final push to defeat Cal by a mere four-tenths of a second for the victory.

LMU also rowed to victory in the Women's Varsity 8 Petite Final. The Lions crossed the line in 7:04.6, over 16 seconds faster than Santa Clara (7:20.7) and UC Irvine (7:53.1). The varsity 8 had missed out on a place in the Grand Final on Saturday after finishing fourth in its heat.

In all, eight LMU boats advanced to their respective Grand Finals. The Second Varsity 8 joined the Novice 8 on the women's side, placing sixth in 7:39.8.

"I am extremely proud of both the men's and women's teams as well as men's coach Brooks Jones for their hard work this season," Head Coach and Coordinator of Rowing Dawn Regan said. "Both teams are positioned for great improvement next year."

In addition to the two golds, LMU grabbed a silver in the Men's Lightweight 8, which was contested on Saturday evening. The Lions went up against two Pac-10 schools in Cal and Washington State, finishing in 6:17.9 to trail Cal by 11 seconds and hold off WSU by four seconds. The men continued to place well, with the Novice 4 finishing third to Orange Coast College and Lewis & Clark. The Men's Lightweight 4 completed LMU's day of top-three finishes, defeating Washington State, Long Beach State, Pacific Lutheran, and UC Santa Barbara. The Lions' time of 6:58.3 trailed only that of Cal and Sonoma State. For his efforts leading the lightweight 4 and lightweight 8 vessels, Perkins was named Second Team All-WIRA.

LMU is in good shape to continue its success in the coming years. The women's squad will lose just two seniors in Sydney Johnson and Becky Nolan, while the men will graduate Perkins in addition to Blake Foster and Hamilton Hiatt.

- GO LIONS -

WIRA Championships Results
May 2-3, 2009 • Lake Natoma

Saturday Heats

Women's Varsity 4 - Heat 1
1. San Diego - 7:46.9
2. Sacramento State - 8:03.5
3. Santa Clara - 8:23.9
4. LMU - 8:34.4

Men's Novice 4 - Heat 3
1. LMU - 7:03.7
2. Long Beach State - 7:18.5
3. Seattle Pacific - 7:21.0
4. Washington State - 7:22.0
5. Pacific - 7:51.7

Women's Novice 4 - Heat 1
1. LMU - 7:50.3
2. Portland State - 8:09.9
3. Long Beach State - 8:11.5
4. UC Santa Barbara - 8:26.2
5. Colorado - 8:36.1
6. Seattle - 9:17.6

Women's Second Varsity 8 - Heat 1
1. Gonzaga - 6:58.0
2. San Diego - 7:02.0
3. LMU - 7:14.9
4. Santa Clara - 7:28.7

Women's Varsity 8 - Heat 2
1. Sacramento State - 6:42.1
2. UC Davis - 6:47.7
3. San Diego State - 6:54.9
4. LMU - 7:01.1

Men's Lightweight 4 - Heat 2
1. Cal - 7:00.6
2. LMU - 7:05.7
3. Sonoma State - 7:07.4
4. Pacific Lutheran - 7:30.8

Men's Novice 8 - Heat 1
1. Orange Coast College - 6:06.7
2. Washington State - 6:15.3
3. UC Santa Barbara - 6:21.1
4. UC Irvine - 6:25.7
5. Cal - 6:33.7
6. LMU - 6:37.8

Men's Varsity 4 - Heat 3
1. LMU - 6:52.3
2. Cal - 6:53.5
3. Lewis & Clark - 6:56.3
4. Long Beach State - 7:03.7
5. Willamette - 7:11.6
6. UC Davis - 7:24.1

Men's Pairs - Heat 1
1. LMU - 7:24.5
2. Washington State - 7:26.4
3. Sacramento State - 7:32.0
4. Pacific Lutheran - 7:58.8
5. Portland State - 8:05.6
6. Seattle - 8:10.8

Men's Novice 8 - Petite Final
1. San Diego - 6:21.5
2. UC Irvine - 6:21.9
3. Puget Sound - 6:37.7
4. Cal - 6:39.5
5. Long Beach State - 6:40.2
6. LMU - 6:47.3

Men's Lightweight 8 - Grand Final
1. Cal - 6:06.2
2. LMU - 6:17.9
3. Washington State - 6:22.0

Sunday Finals

Men's Novice Lightweight 4 - Grand Final
1. Cal - 6:55.1
2. Orange Coast College - 7:00.9
3. UC Davis - 7:07.5
4. Santa Clara - 7:09.0
5. UC San Diego - 7:11.1
6. LMU - 7:20.6
7. Pacific - 7:40.4

Women's Novice 4 - Grand Final
1. LMU - 7:37.6
2. Western Washington - 7:46.9
3. Portland State - 8:06.7
4. San Diego - 8:11.4
5. Sacramento State - 8:16.4

Men's Novice 4 - Grand Final
1. Orange Coast College - 6:52.4
2. Lewis & Clark - 6:55.5
3. LMU - 7:01.0
4. Puget Sound - 7:06.8
5. Western Washington - 7:12.6

Men's Pairs - Grand Final
1. LMU -
2. Cal - +0.45
3. Sacramento State - +4.50
4. Washington State - +7.30
5. Humboldt State - +21.6
6. Long Beach State - +23.1

Men's Lightweight 4 - Grand Final
1. Cal - 6:43.7
2. Sonoma State - 6:54.9
3. LMU - 6:58.3
4. Washington State - 7:03.9
5. Long Beach State - 7:13.7
6. Pacific Lutheran - 7:18.5
7. UC Santa Barbara - 7:26.9

Men's Varsity 4 - Grand Final
1. Washington State - 6:46.0
2. San Diego - 6:51.5
3. Western Washington - 6:52.1
4. Sonoma State - 6:54.3
5. LMU - 6:56.3
6. Cal - 7:02.0

Women's Second Varsity 8 - Grand Final
1. Gonzaga - 7:07.1
2. San Diego - 7:10.8
3. San Diego State - 7:14.1
4. UC Davis - 7:21.3
5. Sacramento State - 7:23.3
6. LMU - 7:39.8

Women's Varsity 8 - Petite Final
1. LMU - 7:04.6
2. Santa Clara - 7:20.7
3. UC Irvine - 7:53.1